Bathing apparatus.



PATENTED APR. 24, 1906.

H. HOEGLAUER.

BATHING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED smwzs, 1004. RENEWED NOV. 4 1905.

s WASmNGmN u c UNITED STATEG PATENT OFFICE.

HEINRICH HOEGLAUER,

OF MUNICH, GERMANY.

BATHING APPARATUS.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, HEINRIGHHOEGLAUER, a citizen of Germany, residing at Munich, Bavaria, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bathing Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description oi" the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Myinvention relates to bathing apparatus, and particularly to an arrangement in con nection with bath-tubs of means for generating waves in the body of water contained therein.

any diflerent kinds of apparatus have been devised for causing the circulation and agitation of the water in baths; but this invention relates particularly to the production of a natural wave movement of the water. Hitherto the generation of waves in baths has usually been effected merely by a spasmodic irregular violent agitation of the water or by the production of circulating currents of water.

The object of my invention is to generate waves having the natural characteristics of an alternate to-and-fro movement without longitudinal progress and following each other in rhythmic sequence.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated my invention as embodied in several different forms of apparatus.

In the drawings, Figures 1, 2, and 3 are longitudinal sectional views of a portion of a bath-tub equipped with my invention. Fig. 4 is a top plan view. Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a modification. Figs. 6 and 7 are respectively a side elevation and top plan view of another modification. Fig. 8 is a sectional view of a modification. Figs. 9 and 9 are transverse and longitudinal sec tions of modifications. Fig. 10 is a longitudinal section of a swimming-bath equipped with my invention, and Fig. 11 is a top plan view provided with a plurality of the devices.

Essentially the invention consists of a water-displacing body or plunger a, which is arranged to be alternately raised above and thrust below the surface of the water, and thus caused to act directly upon the water and effect its displacement bodily within the bath.

In the form of construction shown in Fig. 2 this plunger is carried by one arm of an axle Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 24, 1906.

ewed November 4,1905. Serial No. 285,865.

or rock-shaft I), which shaft is operated by means of a cord or rod 0, attached to another arm, or the cord 0 may be secured directly to the plunger, as shown in Figs. 3, 5, 8, and 9, and may pass around a pulley. In order to equalize the weight oithe plunger (L, and thus reduce to a minimum degree the amount of power required to operate the same, a counterweight or spring (I may be secured to an opposite arm of the shaft, as shown in Fig. 2, or directly to the plunger, as shown in Figs. 3, S, and 9, and may be made capable of adjustment in any well-known way, as by the device 6. The cord 0 maybe operated manually by the bather, by an attendant, or by as uitable motor. Preferably the opposite end of the bath-tub is provided with a counterpart arrangement operating alternately therewith to produce the natural wave movement.

In order to obviate any jar of the parts as the plungerrises and falls, it may be constructed as a hollow body open at the lower end, as shown in Fig. 1, in which case the confined air serves as a cushion as the plunger descends and also contributes to its elastic return. The smoothness of operation is also facilitated by providing the tub with auxiliary chambers at the ends of and communicating with the bath-chamber proper, in which the plunger operates vertically similarly to a piston within a cylinder, causing the water to be discharged from the bottom of the cylinder-compartment into the bathchamber first from one end and then from the other.

In Figs. 3, 5, 8, and 10 are shown a construction in which the plunger travels through the arc of a circle, thus not only displacing the water longitudinally, but giving to the same a movement corresponding to that of a natural wave as it breaks. This effect can be secured by causing the plunger to travel by means of rollers upon a curved track, as shown in Figs. 5 and 10, or by pivotally connecting the same to the upper edge of the tub, as shown in Fig. 3, or to its lower end, as shown in Fig. 8. The ease of operation and automatic return of the pivotally-mounted plunger may be facilitated by providing the same with a float, as shown in Figs. 3 and 8.

In Fig. 9 a plunger is shown consisting of a plate traveling longitudinally in guides at the sides of the tub, said plate being cut away at its lower edge to provide escape for water which may find its way behind said plunger,

the cut-away portion also providing accommodation for the feet of the bather when in a recumbent position. After the first impulse is given to the plunger and the waves thereby set in motion the force of the return wave itself will assist in retracting the plunger for another stroke and very little power will be required to maintain the wave motion, a gentle oscillation by means of the operating shaft or cord being sufiicient.

It will be noted that this invention combines with a minimum expenditure of power a maximum of effect. The mechanism is simple and consists solely of parts which contribute to the wave production, all unnecessary and merely auxiliary or secondary parts being omitted. Instead of expending force in the lifting of the water mass or in circulating the same, as is common with other devices, all the energy is expended in imparting directly to the water a longitudinal swinging Wave motion.

It will be obvious in cases of large swimming-baths and the like that the bath may be provided with a single proportionately large plunger at each end and suitable operating mechanism, or a plurality of plungers may be employed. The plunger may be operated by a crank or by a simple arrangement of the parts may be operated by the feet ofthe bather. In the case of large swimming-baths, moreover, the plungers at the opposite ends may be caused to operate simultaneously instead of alternately, in which case two waves may be formedwhich will meet and break in I the center of the bath, as indicated in Fig. 10. Many other modifications of details not herein specifically pointed out will suggest themselves which come well within the spirit of my invention, and I do not, therefore, desire to be limited to the specific forms of construction illustrated.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. The combination, with a bath-tub, of means acting from opposite ends thereof di rectly upon the water therein to cause a bodily longitudinal movement of the water in opposite directions.

2. The combination, with a bath-tub, of means acting alternately from opposite ends thereof directly upon the water therein to cause a bodily longitudinal movement of the water successively in opposite directions.

3. The combination, with a bath-tub, of a plunger arranged within one end thereof and means for alternately moving said plunger above and below the water in the tub.

4. The combination, with a bath-tub, of a plunger arranged at each end thereof, and means for moving said plungers against and away from the water in the tub.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HEINRICH HOEGLAUER.

Witnesses:

ULYSSES J. BYWATER, MATHILDE K. HELD. 

